Apparatus for operating flushing-valves.



T. F. PAYNE.

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING PLUSHING VALVES. APPLICATION FILED OUT. 22, 1910.

1,087,255. Patented Feb. 17,1914. I

s rn'rns THOMAS IFQPAYNE, OF PITTSBURGH, lPEIil'INSYLVANIA. f

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING FLUSHING-VALVES..

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 22, 1910. I Serial No. 588,465.

Patented Feb.17, 1914.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS F. PAYNE, residing at Pittsburgh, inthe county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, 9. citizen of the United States, have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Operating Flushing-Valves, of which improvements the following is a specification.

It is the object of the invention to provide an apparatus for operating the discharge valve of a tank for flushing water-closets, or other like purpose, which shall be simple in construction and easily'operated.

In the accompanying drawings forming art of this specification, the invention is illustrated inits preferred form, as applied to a water-closet; tank of the well known low-down type. Since any Well known or suitable means may be employed for refilling the tank, such for example as any common form of automatic float-valve, illustration thereof is omitted.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a tank with the cover removed, equipped with said preferred apparatus. Fig. 2 is a front elevation on ,the line IIII of Fig. '1. Fig. 3 ,is a detail elevational view of the valve-levenand operating cam.

The discharge of water from the tank is controlled by the valve 1, of the usual or any suitable form, which is normally held, by its own weight and that of the water above, upon the seat 2 in the orifice of the discharge-pipe 30, leading to the closet-bowl. The valve is raised off its seat by means of a lever-arm 3, pivoted upon a pin 4, mounted' on a bracket 5 secured to the wall of the .tank, and connected at its free end to thevalve by the rods 6 ,and 7 the'latter being preferably guided in the guide-piece 8, fastened to the tank or to the overflow pipe 9,

the pressure of water above it, the amount of energy expended in unseatmg the valve 86. and giving it its initial movement is materially greater than that required to move it farther and to hold it open. This is articularly true of the type of closet ushing valve now commonly used. As shown, it is usually of spherical form and hollow, and

is formed, at least on its lower exterior sur- 7 face, of an elastic mater1al,1n order to maintain a tight closure upon its seat. It is often lighter than the volume of water'which it displaces, so that when raised it is home up by the water surrounding it until the water-- level approaches that of the discharge-orifice. In order therefore to unseat the valve and give it its initial movement, there must be overcome first its own inertia accentuated by its elastic contact with its seat, and second the pressure of the water above. But the pressure diminishes as the water-passes below the valve, and practically ceases when the valve has entirely cleared the orifice.

Hence I make the operating surface of the cam 10 of such shape as'to materially" facilitate the unseating and initial movement of the valve, as compared with its further movement.- The cam is preferably a double one, so that movement of the handle 12 in either direction will operate to raise the lever-arm, and the surface on each side of the spindle is so curved that the bearingpoint of the cam upon the lever-arm gradually shifts away from the spindle the farther the cam is turned. Thus when the cam is in position of rest, the lever-arm will bear upon it at a point immediately above the spindle, and in the movement of the cam in either direction, the farther it is moved, the more remote from the spindle will be the bearing-point of the lever-arm. Thus the handle-12. spindle l1 and cam 10 form in effect a lever, in which the length of the work-arm relatively to the ower-arm gra dually increases. During t e initial movement of the handle the work-arm is relatively short, and hence most effective for unseating the valve with a minimum expenditure of energy; while'as the valve is lifted the effectiveness of the -work-arm for the same energy proportionately decreases.

Since as herein shown the spindle stands somewhat nearer to the pivotal point of the lever-arm than to its free end,'the curvature. of the cam on the side'of the spindle toward the pivotal point is more abrupt than .on the opposite side. It is preferred to form'a flat surface on the cam immediately above the spindle, as indicated at 10", as a bearing forthe lever-arm when inactive, so that the ing the cam in central weight of the lever-arm will assist in holdosition; but that is not essential. Also it is apparent that the handle 12 may be swung in one direction only, and the cam be arranged only on that side of the spindle. Sto s 16 and 17 are preferably provided on t e lever-arm and the bracket 5 respectively to limit the up ward movement of the lever-arm.

The operation of the apparatus is clearly shown in Fig. 3, in which is shown in full lines the. position of the handle and cam when the handle is swung to the right, and in dotted lines their position when the handle is swung to the left, the lever being lifted to the same extent by the same movement of the handle'in either direction.-

Many changes may be made in the particular apparatus herein shown and described without departure from the essential features of the invention as defined in the claim hereto appended.

I claim as my invention:

In an apparatus for operating flushingvalves, the combination with a vertically movable flushing-Valve, and a horizontal lever-arm connected thereto, of a cam for moving the lever-arm pivoted adjacent thereto and having a convex curved configuration such that when the cam is moved the point of contact on the lever-arm gradually shifts from a position in a vertical line i with the pivotal point of the cam to a lateral and more remote position from the said pivotal point, whereby the initial movement of the lever-arm may be effected with a minimum efi'ort.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand. 7

THOMAS F. PAYNE.

Witnesses:

G. G. TRILL,

MARSHALL A. (lumen. 

